The box in the appropriately named Rings Road, Ingleby Barwick, is near to where she grew up.

A gold postbox in Sheffield honouring Jessica Ennis had to be repainted after it was defaced with the words ''Go Jess''.

Graffiti was daubed on the box in Barkers Pool in Sheffield's city centre, which has already become a tourist attraction, within 24 hours of it being painted.

Although the message simply read "Go Jess" in small letters Royal Mail said it applied a new coat of paint quickly as "a point of pride".

A spokeswoman for Royal Mail said: "We are extremely disappointed that someone has chosen to vandalise the gold postbox."

Crowds gathered in the city centre on Sunday to watch the first gold coat being applied, the day after Ennis won gold in the heptathlon.

The box outside the City Hall is overlooked by a giant 80ft poster of the 26 year-old Olympian on the front of the John Lewis building.

People stopped to take photographs as a team applied a coat of primer followed by four coats of gold.

It has since become a tourist attraction, with one man reportedly travelling all the way from London to see it.

Newlyweds Lizzie and Steve Roche, who married on the day Ennis won her heptathlon gold, also posed for pictures beside it.

Sheffield City Council leader Julie Dore said: "We are all so proud of Jess and her fantastic success.

"This is our moment to shine so what a shame it is that someone has chosen to tarnish this by vandalising a postbox painted gold in honour of our local hero. I hope they feel thoroughly ashamed of themselves."